IT IS TEMPTING to start this farewell note with some pithy yet profound quote from Confucius about the nature of change, the importance of rituals or how all good things must come to an end. But this is a temptation that should be resisted. For as we explained as clearly as we could when we launched the blog and decided to name it “Analects”, the choice was not meant to imply our endorsement for Confucius’ philosophy. Or to take sides in the political battles over his legacy . Or—heaven forfend—somehow to compare ourselves to this (or any other) great sage. The Confucian connection to the word Analects of course helped make it suitable for our purposes, but far more important was its appeal as an English word, derived from ancient Greek, denoting “things gathered up”, “literary fragments” or “gleanings”.
That seemed to fit well with what we tried to do in nearly 400 posts over the past three years, and it...Continue reading
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